[DF] A bit of help with fortresses, their design, and capture.

[C4lv1n]

So I started my little quest looking for a fortress design book (Similar to the 3.0 D&D book), apperently there isn't one.

So I have a couple questions for the forum regarding said fortresses.

1. How do you handle it when PCs want to take over a fort (or really anything else) that they have cleared out. I recently put my group up against a small group of bandits that had taken over a more or less intact fort (like the ones in Skyrim). They went through and killed them all and now want the fort for themselves. I'm on the fence about this, and if I do let them take it they will need to man it or more bandits will come back and take it over.

2. This has also got me thinking about fortress design, if there's a rather wealthy PC that wants to build and design their own fort how would I price that? I _think_ that there's prices for generic castles in one of the DF books but not stats for the crazy stuff my players come up with. (They're all munchkins, though the fun in out game is in seeing who can be the munchkiniest) To be clear I'm not expecting a long drawn out explanation, just pointing me towards some work/a blog someone has already written on the topic would be cool too.

[jamesfoxbr]

GURPS Low-Tech Companion 3 have some details about building on page 33

[C4lv1n]

I hadn't thought of that, I had only been looking for dedicated books, not books with fortress design in them. Thanks man.

EDIT:: 10$ later I've got the book, it seems pretty good. I'll know for sure once I've actaully read it.

[Dustin]

Originally Posted by C4lv1n

if I do let them take it they will need to man it or more bandits will come back and take it over.

This is probably the key bit. The PCs need to come up with some way to man the fort, pay and provision those forces, and provide management and oversight. They might be best off finding a friendly organization to hand it off to, in exchange for appropriate considerations (a chamber reserved for their use, improved Reputation with the organization, discounts on equipment, etc).

If you like, you can even address this with the players on a metagame level, "I'm not prepared to run a resource management game right now, and it would derail what I have planned for us to go that direction. If you hand the keep off to the organization of your choice, I'll make it nice for you in other ways."

[Peter V. Dell'Orto]

Originally Posted by C4lv1n

1. How do you handle it when PCs want to take over a fort (or really anything else) that they have cleared out. I recently put my group up against a small group of bandits that had taken over a more or less intact fort (like the ones in Skyrim). They went through and killed them all and now want the fort for themselves. I'm on the fence about this, and if I do let them take it they will need to man it or more bandits will come back and take it over.

Let them take it over. They can hire people to guard it if they want.

It's a great game - they'll want to clear the areas around it. They'll want to raid dungeons to get cash to pay for repairs or upkeep or improvements (and for guards!). They can fend off attacks. They can find that hidden portal in the basement or that the well has a walled-off dungeon entrance in it halfway down the side.

And seriously, if I'm a DF PC and bandits keep taking over my fort, when I leave, great, it's a loot magnet. Feel free to move in while I'm gone, because when I come back I'm going to kick your *** and loot you. Word will get around after 1-2 times and a few bandit heads on pikes around the neighborhood.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by Toadkiller_Dog

And seriously, if I'm a DF PC and bandits keep taking over my fort, when I leave, great, it's a loot magnet. Feel free to move in while I'm gone, because when I come back I'm going to kick your *** and loot you. Word will get around after 1-2 times and a few bandit heads on pikes around the neighborhood.

If the fortress is any good as a fortress, you know, bandits that you would easily slay and rob if they were on the road might prove a bit much when entrenched in it.

This might be solved by a Lord Vetinari-ish maneuver, though. Simply arrange for a secret passage into the heart of the fortress known only to yourself and your adventuring companions. If bandits move in to the keep, you sneak in by night and murder them in their sleep.

[fredtheobviouspseudonym]

"The English Castle" (book) has a fair number of plans of castles of various eras.

One key thing, as a number of people have hinted, castles cost money. You have to maintain them (there's a reason most modern European castles are in ruins), which means you have to man them, guard them, provision them, provide arms & ammunition (arrows, bolts, & even rocks & not-yet-boiling oil), etc.

So you will need some fairly regular income-producing assets or you'll find that you're a prisoner of your own castle.

[C4lv1n]

Originally Posted by fredtheobviouspseudonym

So you will need some fairly regular income-producing assets or you'll find that you're a prisoner of your own castle.

The castle is actually situated near the border of the Duchy they're currently adventuring in, and thye were already in line to get some decent titles. I was just going to make the titles a bit of rank and reputation but instead I could set them up as landed knights.

The area is right up against a chain of mountains, the next adventure could be them clearing out some tunnels in a mineral rich area to turn into a mine.

[Peter V. Dell'Orto]

Originally Posted by Icelander

If the fortress is any good as a fortress, you know, bandits that you would easily slay and rob if they were on the road might prove a bit much when entrenched in it.

The PCs already stormed it once, and I can't see bandits stopping them the second time they need to take it.

Originally Posted by Icelander

This might be solved by a Lord Vetinari-ish maneuver, though. Simply arrange for a secret passage into the heart of the fortress known only to yourself and your adventuring companions. If bandits move in to the keep, you sneak in by night and murder them in their sleep.

That's the better solution, though.

[mhd]

Let them take it, and then fight to keep it. I can't be the only one who loves those "last stand" type of situations, or David Gemmell wouldn't have sold that many books…